The long-term aim of this research is to understand how individuals contribute to their own socialization during significant periods of development throughout the lifespan. It is suggested that conditions present prior to a "self-socialization episode" create interpersonal orientations that influence socialization outcomes. An emerging model of self-socialization processes serves as a framework to guide the research. This model builds on previous cognitive-developmental accounts of social development but is unique in directly examining the bi-directional nature of peer interactions, both as sources of information and as significant socialization outcomes. The specific aims of the proposed research are to: (a) describe developmental change in key variables in the model, such as knowledge about gender and peer interaction goals; (b) test specific hypotheses about how pre-existing conditions influence interpersonal orientations; and (c) understand the effects of changes in orientations on interpersonal choices and behaviors, self-knowledge, and mental health. Six sets of studies are proposed, involving both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs, and combining self-reports, observational techniques, and experimental manipulation. The mental health implications of the research include the increased understanding of: (a) what characterizes a child with peer interaction problems; and (b) developmental vulnerabilities to low self-esteem and depression. The focus on active, strategic elements during peer interactions makes the research particularly relevant to issues of intervention. Finally, because the research involves natural settings, the findings may produce direct practical implications for these settings. Study Set 5, for example, examines children's adaptation to a brief stay in a hospital. Because of the present focus on developmental change in information-seeking and level of understanding, the findings will be useful for developing programs to meet the needs of children at different ages, and thereby minimize the negative psychological consequences of hospitalization. Similar though less direct implications are foreseen with respect to the proposed research on performance-related self-esteem in school, and affective disorders and marital problems associated with the birth of a first child. Professional growth involves plans to: (a) supplement statistical training; (b) visit other laboratories to increase sophistication in observational techniques; and (c) discuss with other socialization researcher the further conceptual development of the self- socialization model. Plans include writing theoretical pieces that describe self-socialization and distinguish it from other socialization approaches, and that discuss how it may help resolve longstanding discrepancies in the literature on child rearing.